The 1953 movie, Shane, depicts a feud between a grizzled old rancher and some farmers, both claiming the right to use of the land. A former gunfighter, seeing the farmers outgunned, came to their defense, changing the odds of this conflict. At the end of this bitter dispute, Shane lectures a young boy that because a man can never escape his past nor his cumulative character (Proverbs 20:11), his conduct must continually be at the highest level.